Residents celebrate holiday with intimate’ breakfast service

Amid all the gift-giving, feasting and family visits, a small group of people shuffled into Our Saviour Lutheran Church on Thursday morning for a growing tradition.

DAN MINER

Amid all the gift-giving, feasting and family visits, a small group of people shuffled into Our Saviour Lutheran Church on Thursday morning for a growing tradition.

The Rev. Anita Mohr and her husband, Mark Betley, cooked and served breakfast and Mohr led a holiday service for about 15 people for the fifth consecutive year on Christmas.

The purpose is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and to provide a welcoming place for people who may not otherwise have one.

“This is an intimate service and we provide it because it celebrates the intimacy of Jesus being around us,” Mohr said.

Going to church on Christmas is a departure from the consumerism that revolves around the holiday season, said Utica resident Cindy Andereck, who was attending with her husband, John, and their two children, 11-year-old Moeisa and 12-year-old Sheena.

“It’s not about presents,” Cindy Andereck said. “It’s about the birth of Christ and family.”

She said she didn’t mind the pageantry of Christmas – the family opened presents before coming to church and was planning on a trip to Rochester to visit family afterward – but she believes the central, religious focus is the most important element.

“It reminds us of what Christmas is really all about,” she said.

The intimacy and comfort of the setting are what Utica resident Elizabeth Douglass enjoys about church on Christmas.

“Christmas Day is a day to remember the birth of Jesus and a reason to gather as Christians,” she said. “It’s just nice to gather around with some of your closest friends.”

Mohr began the breakfast service shortly after becoming the pastor at the church.

She said she heard someone compare the difference between the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to the birth of a baby.

“When you’re in the hospital is like Christmas Eve,” she said. “People come and it’s exciting. It’s a really big, big worship.

“And then on Christmas day, it’s much more intimate. It’s like bringing the baby to their house. You unwrap it and get to know it much more.”